"Advanced Micro Devices has hired JPMorgan Chase & Co to explore options, which could include a potential sale, as the chipmaker struggles to find a role in an industry increasingly focused on mobile and away from traditional PCs, according to three sources familiar with the situation." Woah. Bad news for competition in the x86 space.

Maybe it's true that where there's smoke there's fire, but there are no actual news yet and, as I see it, these rumours should be treated as such rather than a matter of fact.

Think about it: Reuters starts with "Advanced Micro Devices has hired JPMorgan Chase", which seems to be a matter of fact, only to conclude with "according to three sources familiar with the situation", which is NOT a matter of fact. And no, citing "three sources" instead of one or even the generic "sources", doesn't give it any more credibility.

Also, in the "article" there's a statement from AMD (which I sort of missed the first time):

"AMD's board and management believe that the strategy the company is currently pursuing to drive long-term growth by leveraging AMD's highly-differentiated technology assets is the right approach to enhance shareholder value. AMD is not actively pursuing a sale of the company or significant assets at this time."

Oh, and if we ever needed proof that Wall Streets analysts are fecking eejits rather than just crooks, mentioning Intel as a possible suitor should make it clear once and for all.